The Mediterranean conference centre is an important historical site. It was originally built as a hospital – called Sacra Infermeria (“Holy Infirmary”) – by the Order of St. John in the 16th century. The Order was renowned as the Hospitaller Order of Chivalry during the insistent religious wars of the medieval period. Their initial vocation was to provide medical care and later they became a military order.

Sacra Infermeria was known everywhere to provide the best medical services of the time. Especially during the Crusades around foreign lands and the Great Siege of Malta in 1565, a constant flow of sick and injured were brought to Malta’s shores to receive medical treatment from the Knights Hospitallers. The origins of today’s modern healthcare and medicine may be partly traced to the development of surgery in this outstanding hospital.